Issue 12 - Spring 2025
Proud to be ELSTON! Empowered, Listeners, Successful, Together, Open-Minded, Nurturing
Dear families,
I hope that you are well. We have had another very busy fortnight in school including visits from the Fire Service, a special guest called Sheldon (Reception Welcomes Sheldon!) and many, many sporting events!
Thank you for all your contributions to our Red Nose Day efforts. We raised £900 for Comic Relief through red nose sales alone! This will make a big impact on families in need.
Teachers have been busy completing Spring term teacher assessments which they will be able to share with you at parent consultations in the last week of term.
Next week (beginning 24th March) is the last week for all Spring term boosters and clubs. Thank you for your support with these. We will be offering a broader range of clubs in Summer term - look out for more information over the next couple of weeks. As usual, clubs will be on Arbor for you to sign your child up so please make sure you have access to the app.
We've lots of exciting events ahead, including Year 6's residential to Laches Wood.
Thank you for your ongoing support. Enjoy your weekends,
Miss E Foster
Headteacher
Attendance
We track attendance weekly and monitor any pupils falling below 96%. School attendance remains at 95.3%. This is above the most recent national average published (94.8% - 7.3.25). We are currently sitting 20th out of 71 schools in the Local Authority. We remain in the top 40-50% of schools nationally - well done! We'd love to see our attendance increase above 96%. Well done to Year 4 who continue to have the highest attendance so far - Year 2 are close behind though! Reception and Years 1, 3 and 6 have improved attendance - brilliant!
Please could we remind families to inform school of any absences before 9am. Please call 01902 558866. If you are calling before 8am, please leave a voicemail and this will be picked up and reasons for absence recorded on Arbor. Families can now also email attendance@elston.org.uk to report any absences. Families may now also report absences on the Arbor app!
If your child has a medical appointment, please bring them to school before and after wherever possible.
Year group | Up to 20.3.25 |
Whole School (Without Reception) | 95.3% |
Reception | 95.0% |
Year 1 | 95.5% |
Year 2 | 95.7% |
Year 3 | 95.1% |
Year 4 | 95.9% |
Year 5 | 94.9% |
Year 6 | 94.9% |
Punctuality is vital to ensure that pupils have a calm and organised start to the day, and can make the most of every minute in school! Please note that any pupils arriving after 9:30am will receive a 'U' mark which affects their attendance.
From time to time you might receive letters regarding your child's attendance. These letters are sent to many families and are sent regardless of whether you have contacted school or not to inform us of the absence.
Reading for Pleasure
Thank you to all those who supported our book fair which ran during our world book day celebrations. Children enjoyed the opportunity to buy a range of new reading material which was supported by our reading ambassadors in school!
Thank you also to parents who recently voted for Elston Hall to win a competition on social media. We were kindly gifted with a selection of books that have been distributed across school for children to enjoy! It is great to see parents valuing reading as much as we do in school!
Comic Relief
Our school council members in Y5 and Y6 have been busy this week selling red noses for Comic Relief. The children did a fantastic job selling 450 red noses which raised £900 for Comic Relief. Thank you to all those who purchased a red nose and wore them today to show our support!
Year 1 Dinosaur Day
Our Y1 children had a fantastic time during their dinosaur day. The children became paleontologists for the day, exploring fossils and learning lots of facts about dinosaurs! See our blog for more information...
Parent consultation meetings
Parents evenings will take place on 8th and 9th April. Letters have been emailed with details of the dates and times. Parents can book parents evening appointments via Arbor. Bookings will go live on Monday 24th March at 6pm. Please ensure you book an appointment for each child. If you are not able to see a required time slot, then this has already been booked and is no longer available and you will need to select an alternative time. If you are unable to make any of the times advertised, please speak to your child's class teacher or someone in the office and we will do our best to accommodate you.
Fire Service Visits
Nursery had an exciting visit from Fallings Park Fire Station’s Red watch. The children had the chance to sit inside the fire engine whilst also using the hose pipe! The children learned lots about the important tools and equipment used by fire fighters. Red Watch Visit Nursery!
Reception children enjoyed an exciting visit from White Watch! They also had the opportunity to get up close and personal with some real-life heroes, learning all about fire safety, equipment, and had a go with a fire hose! White Watch Visit Reception!
PE Uniform
Can we please remind parents about our expectations for PE uniform which children are allowed to wear on days when they have PE.
Children should wear:
- Bottle green t-shirt with or without logo
- Bottle green hoodie with or without logo
- Black shorts / black jogging bottoms depending on the weather
- Black or white trainers
We have noticed not all children are following these expectations and would appreciate parents support with this. Please also ensure all items are clearly labelled, particularly the school hoodies.
Parent Code of Conduct
Could we remind all parents of our Parent Code of Conduct which can be found here: b65685_69ed78042bbd45ab8755fb80804a3490.pdf
It is vital that families follow this policy in order to ensure school remains a safe and welcoming environment for all. We request that families do not use social media to discuss any children or staff within school, and instead approach school with any concerns so that we can support you to resolve them without causing any harm or disruption to others. Please do not approach any other families with issues whilst on school site.
Thank you for your support with this.
Sports News
Tag Rugby
A group of Y5 and Y6 children represented Elston Hall at a tag rugby event that took place at Wolverhampton Rugby Club. The children played lots of competitive games and developed their rugby skills lots during the day winning three of their games. Tag Rugby Team!
Cross Country Events
There have been several events recently for our cross-country team. In their first event last week, they finished in first place for the girls and a strong second place for the boys in the area race! In their second event that took place this week, our girls team achieved joint first place in the city. Further pictures and details can be found on two blogs on our website: Cross Country Victory! and Cross Country Champions
Girls Football Matches
Our girls football team have competed in several matches recently. Firstly they played against Rakegate in their last group game with an excellent 2-0 win. A Team Triumph for Elston Girls! The girls played brilliantly with great passing and excellent defensive work. They then moved on to play Uplands in the quarter finals. Despite a tight game, the girls lost to two late goals with a final score of 0-2. Proud of our Girls! We are immensely proud of the team and how much they have developed over the season. Well done girls!
Table Cricket
Well done to a group of our Y5 and Y6 children who attended the table cricket event at Ormiston Academy last week. The children represented the school excellently winning two of their 4 games played. Table Cricket
Year 2 Multi-Skills
Well done to our Y2 multi-skills team who participated in a competition at Westcroft school this week. The children demonstrate a range of skills in throwing, jumping and catching and won the event! The team will now move on to compete in the Black Country games later in the year! Well done! Multi-Skills Team Triumph!
Cheerleading club
Some girls from Years 5 and 6 have been taking part in a cheerleading club lead by the Big Sister Project. The programme helps girls aged 9-15 to feel ‘sport ready’ by recruiting a network of ‘Big Sisters’ – peer leaders and supporters from sport, school and community organisations. The children have been lucky enough to work with Jazzi and Michelle Ratcliffe from Places Leisure Wolverhampton.
Yo! Wolves
The Yo! Wolves Easter HAF programme is open for booking from 26 March. Offering hundreds of activities, events and food for the city’s children and young people and their families during the Easter school holidays.
Running from Monday 14 April to Friday 25 April, all activities are fully funded and will include a meal.
The holiday activities are free for all children and young people of school age receiving benefit related school meals, and with SEND or EHCP. The activities include arts, crafts, fun days out, dance and drama workshops, photography and much more. Booking places is easy at www.yowolves.co.uk/events
Parking
Please can we remind families to park considerately, both at the front of school and on Shelley Road carpark. Please do not block any residents or use private bays, and take care when entering and exiting carpark to ensure the safety of our children. Thank you.
Lunch menus
Our regular lunch menus can be found here: Lunches | Elston Hall. Please review these with your children so that they know what is on offer each day. Thank you.
Parents are also invited in for a coffee and cake morning, where catering staff will be available to answer any questions.
Key Dates
Spring term 2025
Monday 24th March - Last week for boosters and clubs
Thursday 27th March - Reception Mother's Day assembly
Monday 31st March - Wednesday 2nd April - Y6 Residential to Laches Wood
Friday 4th April - Animal Man to visit Year 2
Tuesday 8th April - Parent consultations 4-6pm
Wednesday 9th April - Parent consultation 3:30-5pm
Monday 14th April—Friday 25th April—Easter break
Summer term 2025
Monday 28th April —Pupils return to school. Swimming resumes.
Monday 5th May - Bank holiday - school closed to pupils
Tuesday 6th May and Friday 9th May - Year 4 Bikeability
Monday 12th May—Thursday 15th May—Year 6 SATs week
Monday 19th May - Wednesday 21st May - Y4 Conwy residential
Monday 26th May—Friday 30th May—Half term
Monday 2nd June—Friday 6th June - Year 4 Multiplication Checks
Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th June - Y6 Bikeability
Monday 9th June—Friday 13th June - Year 1 Phonics screening and Year 4 Multiplication Checks. New Reception parent meetings.
Monday 16th June - Y2 Beaudesert residential
Friday 20th June—INSET day—School closed to pupils
Monday 23rd June - Y1 sports day 9:15; Y2 sports day 10:45; Y3 sports day 1:45
Tuesday 24th June - Y4 sports day 9:15; Y5 sports day 10:45
Friday 27th June - Reception sports day 9:15; Nursery AM sports day 10:45; Nursery PM sports day 1pm; Y6 sports day 2pm
Week beginning 30th June - transition week Y6-7
Friday 11th July - End of Year reports out
Tuesday 15th July - Year 6 Leavers performances
Thursday 17th July - Nursery graduation. Year 6 Fun Day. Year 6 Leavers Party.
Friday 18th July—Last day of summer term
Autumn term 2025
Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd September - INSET days - school closed to pupils
Wednesday 3rd September - Pupils return to school
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